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Summer Preview Issue
Ladies and gentlemen, the forecast for the week is going to be unseasonably hot with blazing sunshine. Don't believe me? Well the kind folk at Accuweather beg to differ! That is one of the more funny and clever ways of saying, "It's going to be REALLY uncomfortable this weekend." I suspect this is nature's way of telling us that our 6  month summer is nigh and to bid farewell to the season I like to call Aut-inter-ing! Alas, our summer preview issue!
First off, our Mother's Day Brunch this Sunday the 10th. Starting at 10 am and going until the fun stops (usually between 1 and 2 pm), it'll be a great way to show mom how much you care! The price for the buffet is $28 per person and kids under 12 for $14! What is on the menu you ask? Well you can find it HERE. Did you miss that? You can also find it HERE and HERE. Hope to see you at either of our locations for a fantastic time!
Graduation is also upon us next week. Thursday through Saturday (the 14th through the 16th) should be a pretty busy time as our graduates show their families where they spent the brunt of their college time and tuition...Four Peaks! Seriously though, we want to congratulate all of the graduates out there and wish them the best as they make the world a better place, and thank you for your loyalty over the years.
What can be more indicative of summer than grilling in the great outdoors? If you spent anytime at the Four Peaks Tempe location last weekend you no doubt noticed a new addition to our Four Peaks Family, the brand new Meat Smoke-tacular 5000 (now in flat black!). Arthur and Daryn were tinkering around with smoking all sorts of meats last weekend (bacon and brisket and short ribs, OH MY!) by the back loading dock and the wonderful smells permeated everything. As the summer progresses I have been informed that we will be experimenting  with all sort of new things including pulled pork, smoked adovada and beer can chicken! Stay tuned and stop in all summer because you don't want to miss a thing!
Next week is American Craft Beer Week! That's right, a whole week devoted to celebrating the joys of craft beer! Show your support all week by enjoying the tasty concoctions of small breweries both locally and around the country! Now the facts according to beertown.org:
- Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2008 was 5.9% by volume and 10.1% by dollars.
-The craft brewing industry produced nearly 8.6 million barrels of craft
beer in the U.S. in 2008.
- The fastest growing sector craft brewing sector continues to be
microbreweries, showing customer support for local breweries.
- The craft brewing sales share as of December '08 is 4% by volume and 6.3% by dollars.
- Total U.S. craft brewing industry annual dollar volume is $6.3 billion.
What does all this mean to you? I don't know, but it sure makes me thirsty!
This week we delve into the inner workings of our Cinco De Mayo surprise, we get a Scottsdale update from Mike Kruchko, have 5 questions with our newest bartender/utility man, Chris Brewer and the Brewers take you on another myth-busting adventure! You know, I am really excited about the new smoker that we've acquired. Just looking at it made me think back on one of my favorite passages from the book of Tufnel and his summation of the Smell The Glove album cover:
It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.
Your Friends at The Four Peaks Brewery and Four Peaks Grill & Tap |
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1340 East 8th Street #104
Tempe, Arizona 85281
480.303.9967
480.303.9964 fax
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15730 North Pima Road
Suite D5-7
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
480.991.1795
480.991.1796 fax
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Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and, like every holiday
I spend out here, I enjoy hanging out with friends. After a hard day of preparing and researching
for this weeks Brewsletter (yes, I do research for every  issue, thank you very
much), I decided to stop at a certain red-haired managers abode to celebrate
like we always do for the May 5th holiday. That's right, we watch old video of The Surf
Punks and U2 (amongst others) on Youtube, admire the vocal stylings of one of
our esteemed owners as he harmonizes with Gordon Lightfoot singing "If
You Could Read My Mind," share a 12 pack of Kilt Lifter in a can, and watch "First
Blood" with commercial interruptions on television. What was that last part, you ask? I'm not ashamed to say that I/we still enjoy
a good Stallone movie once and again, where is the crime in that? Ohh, you mean the Kilt Lifter part!
It's true; Cinco de Mayo 2009 will go down in the annals of Four
Peaks history as
the first day that  we powered up the canning line. Around 11 o'clock that morning, myself, my
press credentials and a seemingly never ending parade of representatives from
fellow breweries, distributors, family and close friends watched as the first
cans of Kilt Lifter Scottish Amber came off the line. There were, of course, a few misfires in the
beginning, thus offering us all several opportunities to sample "defective"
product. I was only halfway into my
four-shot Americano before I was 2 cans into my day. To quell any doubts however, productivity did
go up as the cans went down; we are nothing if not a model picture of
efficiency!
In case you didn't quite figure it out, some days I really enjoy
my job.
We would like to invite all of you to stop into the Brewery
to pick up a 12 pack of Kilt Lifter cans right now at $14.99. They will be available at the Grill & Tap
starting tomorrow (Thursday the 7th) for the same price. Hold on tight, all signs point to the Sunbru
Kolsch Style Ale being canned on Tuesday May 12th!
Currently we are only going to be offering our cans
through the Brewery and the Grill & Tap, so if you're planning on hitting
the links or spending some time on the lake, make sure you stop by either of
our locations to stock up before you head out... like the cans say, "Pack It In -
Pack It Out"
Did I mention there was a James "Wild Card" Scussel sighting at the event? Somehow he escaped the evil clutches of "Kentucky Waterfall" Jesse...but that's a story for another time!
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CASK-CONDITIONED AND SEASONALS
IN SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK:
Kilt Lifter Scottish Amber: You've had on draft, you've had it in bottles, you can now get it in cans, but have you tried it on cask? This week try or most popular of ales 4 different ways!
IN TEMPE:
Orange Blossom Ale: According to Andy's right hand man, "It's all flower, no fruit!" Come in and try our Orange Blossom Ale today, it is bound to fast on these 100 degree days! Kilt Lifter will be available upon it's quick departure!
SEASONAL DU JOUR:
Currently In Development!
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5 Questions With... Chris Brewer
The phrase "catastrophic equipment failure" gets tossed around a lot these days... actually that has nothing to do with this weeks subject, but I always wanted to use that line somewhere! Our latest addition to the  bartending staff, Smilin' Chris Brewer, is truly an inspiration to us all! When not seen behind the bar at Monkey Pants pouring a delicious Kilt Lifter (shameless plug), he can be seen holding down door duties and bartending at Four Peaks as well! What we weren't prepared for was the thoroughness with which he completed the questions. So let us take a peek at the inner workings of one Chris Brewer, take it away... 1) What is your
favorite Four Peaks
beer? Please explain.I love the Hop Knot. I want to have its babies! It's literally one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I love how it's bitter at first then it just mellows away into tantric bliss on my tongue. I would like to see it at Monkey Pants soon! 
2) Having been a U.S.
Marine at one time you would be the person to ask. What is the all-time best Marine movie ever
made? Please elaborate.
First, my good sir, let me correct your question, one never loses the title of Marine! That being said, I really have to go with Full Metal Jacket. We had the privilege of seeing it in boot camp (my 1st time) and its portrayal of Marine boot camp is just beautiful. Also, R. Lee Ermey, former Marine Drill Instructor, did it proud. There are a few others I love as well... The Great Santini, Heartbreak Ridge and Sands of Iwo Jima. Ears!! Eyeballs!!
3) Which Four
Peaks food item
would you recommend to the first time Four
Peaks
visitor? Why?
Well, depending on the first timers hunger level is how I would answer that. But I'm going to have to go with the Tap Room Tenderloin. It took me a year to try one, but when I did it stole my heart! 
4) You also bartend
at Monkey Pants Bar and Grill on Mill and Southern (who will be celebrating
their 5 Year Anniversary on Saturday), how could
one procure that picture of the bear in a warm up suit running through the
field?
Well, first of all Tim, one must put in an application at The Sets. After that, simply pick a busy Friday night at the Pants, be sure I am there oblivious and drinking Kilt Lifter, then surreptitiously take it off the wall and make a mad dash for the door... or maybe just look for it online.
5) What do you
expect to be the highlight of the upcoming Depeche Mode concert this August? (Extra Credit for including, "pair of black
wings," and/or "the song "Somebody" done a cappella by Steve Lynch" in your
answer)HAHAHA! Wow. The black wings should be mandatory for ALL attendees, as should dead roses. Steve Lynch singing "Somebody" a capella? I've actually heard that! I'm thinking some "Black Celebration" will raise the roof, "Never Let Me Down Again" never let ME down and "Nothing" is amazing. The highlight will be the great time we're going to have, the inebriated state and merciless awesome song after awesome song thrown at us by the hands of Gahan, Fletcher and Gore!  R. Lee says, " Get Your Ass Into Pants!"
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Sunday, May 10th: Mother's Day Brunch at both locations, show mom you care!
Wednesday, May 13th: Cheese Puff Day!
Monday, May 25th: Memorial Day
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The Brewers Blog
More myth-busting this week; in fact, if you, dear readers,
have any questions or concerns about beer or brewing please feel free to ask
and we'll either confirm or deny their veracity. Or we'll be just plain stumped.
This week's myths:
"Bock beer is made
from the collection of beer left over from the bottom of barrels", and "Bock
has some odd, possibly occult, relationship with goats"
Let's take the first one.
The origins of this myth are unknown.
What is known is that Bock beer is a deliberately designed and brewed
style of strong German lager. They were
originally brewed to mark various religious events or milestones; Christmas,
Easter, etc. and tended to be quite dark in color and assertive in flavor. Actually, the strength of this beer and the
festive situations in which it was imbibed  may be the cause of the myth. Many people don't like admitting to having a
hangover and will blame it on just about anything, especially odd brewing
techniques, other than the number of times their elbows bent mugs to their
mouths.
The second part is easy.
Bock originated in Einbeck and spread to the Bavarian town of Munich
where it was named for the town of origin.
In the Bavarian dialect it was Ainpoeck bier and later shortened to just
Poeck which sounds an aweful lot like "Bock".
Bock in German means goat and if you've ever seen children harassing the
goats in a petting zoo you know they can have a rather nasty head-butt. Unsuspecting drinkers of Bock also noticed
the same about the beer, and so the name, or nickname, stuck.
"The Mexican brewery
workers who make Corona often urinate in the beer that is shipped to
the US"
OK, first of all; gross.
Second of all it's just not true.
Regardless of your feelings toward Corona
it is made in a modern, state-of-the-art brewery by people who genuinely care
about quality. This would just not be
possible not to  mention it smacks of being just a bit, uh, racially insensitive.
"Hefe-weizen should
always be served with a lemon wedge"
We've covered this, people.
No, it should not be served with a lemon. It should be appreciated for what it is but
if you absolutely must have a lemon then, just, go ahead. Just expect to be quietly mocked by us.
"Hops are a relative
of the Cannabis (marijuana) Family"
This one is actually true. Hops and marijuana are actually cousins; hops
being Cannabis Lupulus and Mary-Jane
being Cannabis Sativa. The fun stuff in ditch-weed, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol
(say that baked), is missing in its cousin the hop. We have had cheeba and hemp beers in the past
and found they had no "effect" on us in the sense of being, as Carl Spackler
says, "stoned to the bejesus belt".  It
was lamented at the time that the beer was a sad waste of dope (not by us, of
course, we know not of these things). And rest assured that you cannot and
should not smoke hops, we've heard.
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The Grill & Tap Dispatch
with Mike Kruchko
So I'm hoping that everyone had a fantástico Cinco de
Mayo! Be patient with me this week, as I
am writing to you after a night of celebrating the holiday myself (and I thought
I was a bad typer when I wasn't drinking).
Boy, I can't believe  the stories I could tell you about growing up as a
little niño in New England celebrating the Mexican army's unlikely victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla
on May 5, 1862,
but unfortunately that would be a stretch, since I had never really heard about
"Cinco" until I moved out here!
But enough with history; from here on
out, I'll be associating the 5th of May as the day we fired up the
canning line at the brewery! Although I
was unable to break my plans to attend the festivities (I was working up north);
I can imagine it was quite the scene. I'm
sure there was a large number of
"mistakes" that had to be "accidentally" consumed...I picture Peter Griffin
throwing down beers hand over fist at Pawtucket Brewery for some reason? Well, I'm not sure when I took that left turn
back there, but let me get back on track.
Seriously, it's a very cool day for Four Peaks Brewing Co. and I'm super
psyched to get our Kilt Lifter and Sunbru out there for summer time! Now while I'm passing out from heat stroke on
the golf course in August, I'll at least have my cooler packed with ice cold
cans of Kilt.
So, where does that leave us now? Yet another Hallmark holiday is upon us. Mother's Day is the 10th (and I
swear I'm sending out a card this year!).
As Timmy mentioned before; we are hooking up the Mother's Day Buffet
just like Tempe. So make your reservations now to
get your spot; and Dad's don't worry about finding an excuse to have to stay
 home...there's plenty of NBA and NHL Playoff action on Sunday, not to mention
tons of day baseball! I hate to have to
do it because we know how much everyone in Tempe loves to hear it, but don't forget
we've got the A/C up and pumping in North Scottsdale, so if it's a scorcher (this
meteorologist is predicting a balmy 99), we've got you covered. So make day of it, brunch, Four Peaks Mimosas
and playoff sports...what Mom doesn't love that?!?
Ok,
well I'm not so sure where to leave you off this week? I was trying to think of a good Mother's Day
joke, but somehow I kept sounding like that stupid Wilmer Valderrama show in my
head doing those your Mom is so "....." jokes and that is totally not the road I
was trying to go down! I'd also love to
give you a head's up on a sweet "outside of Four Peaks" event going on this
weekend, but other than Star Trek getting released Friday (and yes, it looks
AWESOME!) I sadly have none. So let me
leave with a truly heart felt "thank you" to all the Moms out there. You are without a doubt the single most
important person in each of our lives...believe me, we know this. How many times did you remind us that you
brought us into this world and you can take us out just as fast!?! Happy Mother's Day Mom, Love You : )
You can contact us in
Scottsdale at 480-991-1795 or at Scottsdale@fourpeaks.com
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A Few Parting Words...
Just a few quickies before we leave you to fend for yourself for another week. Cheese Puff Day is coming up on Wednesday the 13th so make some room for legendary taste that everyone is clamoring about.  Hey, did you know we're getting some new bike racks? We will soon be installing four separate bike racks to take the place of the last one. They look outstanding and will be bolted down so they won't meet the same fate as our last one which was beat to a pulp and left for dead in Creamery Park. Whomever those savages were, they will soon meet their comeuppance! Did you miss the "Craft Brew" special on PBS a few months back? Would you like to have your own personal beer tour with Andy Ingram from the comfort of your own computer? You're finally in luck! The segment, broken into 2 parts, can now be found on youtube! Just click the links below! Enjoy!
Customer Comment Of The Week...This weeks CCOTW makes me chuckle, it's from Amy Clouster who was visiting her daughter...but I'll just let her explain: "Had a great time at Four Peaks, Tempe, while visiting our daughter. She
visits your brewpub often and highly recommended it to us. We can't
wait to visit Ashlee, our daughter, again so we can come back to your
place! We live in Indiana, Trevor did a great job recommending various
brews for our family and our friends. he deserves a raise!!"Oh, that Trevor! Can I make it through an entire Brewsletter where his name doesn't pop up? I really don't think so! Good work sir and let me be the first to say, "there won't be any money exchanged, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive complete consciousness." Cheers!
"They talk of my drinking but never my thirst."
- Scottish proverb
Their Amps May go To 11, But Our Packs Go To 12!
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